Clarity
by Eternally.Klarolined
Summary: It wasn't supposed to be like this. Why couldn't she walk away, and forget him, like he seems to have forgotten her? Now complete.
1. Clarity

**Okay, so this is my first piece of writing in some time. Which is why I'm just going for a one-shot for now, although this will actually be a two-shot. Please let me know what you think, I appreciate any feedback.**

**Disclaimer - I do not own the Vampire Diaries, or Gossip Girl, nor any of the characters named. I wish.**

* * *

"What is wrong with you, you jerk?!"

"_The worst thing I ever did. The darkest thought I ever had. You said you would stand by me through anything."_

Caroline scoffed and tossed her glass back as she swallowed the remainder of her wine.

"_This Blair, this is anything."_

Caroline shook her head at the characters on the screen, curled into her pillow as she watched their break-up.

"_I never thought the worst thing you could do would be to me."_

"Preaching to the choir." Caroline grumbled. She hated this episode. It always made her sad when it seemed to be the end of "Chair", without a doubt her favourite pairing on the show. But she had committed herself to a weekend marathon of Gossip Girl and so forced herself to watch the gut-wrenching scene of Blair saying goodbye and walking away from Chuck. She went to take another sip of wine, only to remember she'd just drunk the last, and uncurled herself from around her pillow to sit up, shaking away the slight dizziness the vast amount of alcohol had incurred. The ending credits were rolling so Caroline didn't feel the need to pause the episode and simply stretched as she lazily made her way over to the mini fridge.

"Damn" She muttered under her breath. Out of wine. Plenty of blood bags, but not a drop of alcohol in sight. She was sure she'd prepared some for this weekend.

She had arranged for her, Bonnie and Elena to spend some quality girl time together this weekend. It was all planned out; they all had Friday afternoon free, and so would go out for a bite to eat and some drinks before coming back to the dorm for some much needed chill time; junk food, blood-bags for her and Elena, and Gossip Girl. On Saturday they would spend the day shopping before getting pedicures and manicures, then getting dressed up for a night out in the next town over. Then Sunday, Caroline had planned for a pamper day to come down from any hangovers (especially Bonnie). She and Elena could drink a blood-bag to rid themselves of any post-clubbing head trauma, but their Witch-Anchor friend could not. Of course, Caroline was nothing if not one for her plans, and she had been determined that nothing would come in the way of their weekend. She had missed spending time with her girls, and felt that Elena spending all summer with Damon had soon extended into her spending any-time she wasn't needed at college with the elder Salvatore as well. Bonnie, Caroline would let off the hook. Her friend had not so long ago come back from the dead, and before that Jeremy had been dead himself, so they were making up for lost time, but Caroline had missed her too. She'd spent all summer wondering how Bonnie had managed to drop off the face of the earth, and devastated didn't even cover how she felt when Jeremy finally confessed the secret; Bonnie had died just before Graduation. Caroline had been dying for the three of them to spend some quality time together like they used to before all of the supernatural mess ruptured their lives. And she had been sure to tell them of her plans the week before so they'd have no excuses.

But, lo and behold, Damon wanted to whisk Elena away to a romantic B&B somewhere in Charlotte, and Elena was so loved up and enamoured by his suggestion that she cancelled on Caroline with no more than a_ "I'm sorry, but we can do our girls weekend any other time." _

Caroline grinned as she recalled the bottle of Bourbon she had stashed in her cabinet, for emergencies. She practically dived to the side of her bed in her glee to rip the god damn door open. A full bottle, too, her night was beginning to look up. If she was going to be sad and pathetically alone, then she should be drunk, sad and pathetically alone. She settled herself back on her bed as the next episode was just starting, unscrewing the cap and at first considered getting a glass before shrugging and drinking from the bottle. No need for glasses and manners; there was no one around for her to impress.

Bonnie, to her credit, had looked genuinely remorseful when Caroline told her it would just be the two of them since Elena bailed with _"that man-skank she calls a boyfriend". _

"_Jeremy suggested we go up to his parents cabin for the weekend. He wants to get away from Mystic Falls for a bit, and it would be nice to spend some time away from all the crazy drama." Bonnie rubbed Caroline's shoulder in comfort, offering her a sweet smile. _

She actually had no idea where Stefan was; he hadn't answered his phone, and when she began to get worried he sent her a text to say he couldn't come to see her as something had come up. Vague as always, she suspected Stefan was being his old broody self, perhaps over Elena and Damon. She hated when Stefan got broody, especially since he would rarely open up and accept any form of comfort or consolidation. Caroline had left him a message telling him to call her if he needed her and that she would be in her dorm all weekend if he wanted to hang-out.

It's not as if they were her only option. Caroline being ever the Queen Bee, had successfully made a few friends in her short time at college, despite all the drama she got caught up with and that it was a miracle she got to spend any time at college. No one she was particularly close to; but she always had an invitation to whatever party or social event was happening around campus. Elena and Bonnie called the girls who always yelling "Hi!" to her in the hallways her minions.

But she was being mopey, and feeling sorry for herself so opted for the girls weekend, flying solo. Which, to be quite fair, she did well. Fly solo, that is.

It's not as if she could go find Matt; he'd either be working, or with Tyler. And Tyler still had a hard time being in the same room as her without making a snide comment that made her want to stuff his words back down his throat.

It was odd how since their relationship came to it's final end, she was able to see Tyler how she used to see him, before they were together. She always thought he acted really arrogant, and was kind of a bully. In short, a jackass. It saddened her that they had come to that, and she missed the time when he was one of her closest friends but Tyler was still pissed about her sleeping with Klaus. He'd been spitting with rage when he first found out, she was so sure he was going to lose his temper and bite her until Stefan intervened.

Then she'd have to call _him_ and ask him to break his promise to come back and heal her with his blood.

Surprisingly, Klaus had been making very good on his promise. Since their day in the forest (which Caroline had not been thinking about at all) he had kept his word in every sense.

No more texts with photographs of New Orleans attached that she'd saved to her phone but rarely replied to.

No more returning to her dorm to find someone had snuck in to deliver a drawing or any surprise gifts; the earrings which matched her bracelet to perfection, the coffee machine sitting on her desk, and then of course there was the time she'd come back to find a $500 gift card for her favourite store with a note saying _"You choose the dress this time."_

No more surprise deliveries; the first flowers he sent were eleven red roses, with one white rose, and a card saying _"In every dozen there is one unique – you are that one". _Slightly corny, but she had blushed like crazy, made her excuses to the girls and rushed off to put them in water.

He loved flirting with her, and was always determined to give her things and say things to her to make heat rush to her cheeks and her eyes widen with surprise.

However he had taken his promise to never come back very literally. For three weeks now, he had been officially out of her life. Not the slightest hint of any contact from him. And she'd rather set herself on fire than confess so, but she missed it. Missed him. It wasn't even the gifts she missed, she wasn't that superficial. It was just, nice. She used to think that his gifts were an act to buy her affections, but then she realized that he genuinely liked doing things for her. It hit her back in Mystic Falls when he'd helped her with the big Prom dress crisis; she'd caught him watching her for a reaction and how pleased he looked when she smiled. It was nice, knowing there was someone who cared enough that he would take the time to do something that would make her smile, just to make her smile. Knowing there was someone who cared enough.

It was frustrating as hell; she had made him promise to go away and not come back. _She_ got him to make that promise. She'd been going crazy trying to deny how he made her feel. When he had just shown up out of the blue, she hadn't been prepared and had to hold herself back from full out beaming at the sight of him, and instead whooshed away at the sight of his face.

Caroline sighed. She was such an idiot.

She had figured, _"What's the worst that can happen?"_ She could let herself go, just that once she could do something just for her, and admit how she felt, even if it wasn't with words. And it would only be once, right?

Caroline took another swig and grimaced at the strong taste as it burned her throat.

She'd been so wrong. Just one time? By the time they finally came up for air, it had gotten dark and her energy was completed depleted. For a vampire, that's saying something. But she smiled lightly as she recalled how he wasn't exactly in any better shape. He eventually collapsed on top of her, both of them panting despite not needing the oxygen, and her body cradled his as he clung to her and rested his head on her breast. They'd taken a moment to catch their mutual breath before Klaus rolled them, pulling her into his strong arms. And that was the moment that no amount of denial, bourbon or compulsion even could ever wipe from her mind.

She hadn't felt so safe since before she met Damon.

Wrapped in the arms of the Hybrid, the most feared, powerful and dangerous being on the face of the planet, and she felt loved, protected and wholly safe. He would never allow any harm to come to her when she was with him, she knew that much. It had been so long since she had felt that security, in knowing nothing could harm her then, it nearly brought her to tears. Refraining from embarrassing herself and probably freaking the hell out of Klaus, she'd buried her head into his chest, tracing his tattoos with her forefinger as Klaus watched her languidly, gently running his fingers through her hair, occasionally bending his neck to press his lips to her hair or her forehead.

She watched the screen as she continued to drink, not focussing on the characters as she was now wrapped up in the memory of that day. This was why she didn't like to be alone now. She really should have just put on a killer outfit and gone out to one of the many frat parties around campus, pretended to get drunk with everyone else and mindlessly danced the night away.

Instead, here she was, watching TV and drinking alone in her sweatpants and Lady Gaga t-shirt, unable to not think about _him _and the way his lips had left their burning mark on her skin. Because they really hadn't. Nope, not at all. She was just surprised, is all. When they'd finally parted ways, he'd clutched her to him in one last searing kiss that left her legs buckling and her head swimming before he disappeared. And he hadn't even called her. Sure, so she basically told him she didn't want him in her life. Since when did he listen to her? She scoffed into her Bourbon, stupid Hybrid. Stupid texts that put a smile on her face. Stupid romantic drawings.

Stupid Klaus, "Ugh, This is ridiculous." She should just call the bastard herself and demand to know why he hadn't been plaguing her.

Because that conversation would go down well. _"Hi Klaus, you sexy jerk, so I know I told you I had my own plans that didn't involve you, and I wanted you to promise to leave and never come back? Well, then we had hot hybrid-vampire sex for hours and I haven't heard from you since which really pisses me off. What gives?"_

She should not even be pissed off. She should be overjoyed that finally he had done as she'd asked and stayed away, and he had kept his distance in every way he could. Her life had been Klaus free for 23 days now, she had actually managed to escape with her life! She should be buzzed out, celebrating and burning his romantic drawings in a gleeful fit of hysteria that he'd finally gotten the message.

That's why she'd shredded the first drawing he'd given her. The bitter ball was the week after their little _tryst_ and she'd only just started to feel the uncomfortable realization that he hadn't been in touch at all since. So she'd taken the drawing with her and shredded it with Elena looking on in bemusement. It had felt like her insides were being shredded right alongside it, and she'd wanted to undo the action as soon as the pieces fell to the waste-basket below.

Caroline sighed as she put the bottle on her bedside table to then lean over the side of her bed, reaching underneath for her memento box.

It was a shoe box which she had decorated cutting out colourful magazine images and glueing them across the box and lid. She kept items that held a special significance to her in this box. Photos, travel tickets, the movie stubs from her and Matt's first official date, the bracelet Tyler gave her for _that_ birthday, her friendship bracelet out of the three that she made for herself, Bonnie and Elena when they were nine. And then there was her new Klaus corner.

Two jewellery boxes; a bracelet, earrings, drawings each with their own message, the card from the flowers he'd sent, a New Orleans brochure, and one shredded and taped back together drawing of Caroline with a horse and the words written as thanks;

_Thank you for your honesty – Klaus_

Caroline stared at the drawings for about 5 minutes. Her phone lay on the table beside her bottle of Bourbon. She was crazy for even thinking it, but she'd been drinking for hours and even her vampire tolerance had reached it's limit to get her certifiably buzzed, so this seemed like a really good idea. Caroline was never one to wait around for something to come to her; she was a do it yourself type of girl. Insecure, and inappropriate; always saying the wrong thing, but that never held her back.

The blonde held her phone in her hands, turning it over as she thought about what she would say. She couldn't come right out and ask him why he hadn't called her, the answer there was obvious. What she really wanted to know was, did he still want to call her? Was he still interested in speaking to her, in hearing about her hopes and dreams and everything she wanted in life? Last love. He said that he intended to be her _last_ love. Not her next love, not her love now. Her _last. _As in, should she ever actually die, his would be the last arms to hold her, the last lips she kissed. However long it takes, he said. Was this still true, she desperately wanted to know. Was he still willing to wait for her? Or had he decided that he'd gotten all he wanted from her?

Caroline felt tears begin to well up, and she furiously fought them back down. She didn't even want to ask herself why these questions were plaguing her, why she cared so much whether or not he still cared. She was genuinely afraid of looking carefully at the feelings she had for Klaus. Oh she knew they were there, she just didn't want to to think too hard or put any label on them for fear of allowing them to get stronger. She wasn't oblivious to the fact that if she didn't hold them back, her emotions would consume her.

Swallowing her pride, Caroline typed in her pass code to unlock her phone before bringing up her contacts. She went back through some of the texts he'd sent her, grabbing the bottle and taking a gulp to calm her nerves. Jesus she hadn't even done anything and she was close to a panic attack.

_I should just text him. Easier than a phone call, he won't be able to tell that I've been drinking in case I accidentally slur my words, and I think about what to say back to him instead of going silent with panic, or worse, word vomit. _

Smiling at this decision she brought up the last message he sent her, and the reply bubble.

_What should I say?_

**-Hi. How are you? **

She stared at the screen for moment, took another gulp of her drink and pressed send. There. Done. She threw down her phone and stared at the screen trying to catch up with what she'd missed in the episode. She was not going to stare at her phone until he replied. Everyone knows that's how you make it take longer.

Shaking out her long hair, she tried hard to pay attention to the TV, and not focus on the phone lying innocently at her feet, not buzzing a reply. She looked at her clock. Only after 9pm. Reasonable time. No, watch Gossip Girl, Caroline. Just wait for him to text back, he might be busy or not have his phone on him anyway.

Caroline rolled her eyes at herself and her nerves over sending a silly text message. Sure it was to Klaus, but it's not like it was a novel-length letter declaring her undying love for him. She just said Hi; she's entitled to say Hi to the people in her phone book. It's her phone and she'll text if she wants to!

Slightly more calm, Caroline busied herself with putting away the box and decided to go get some food. It was a good fifteen minute walk if she didn't vamp speed it to the nearest grocery store. She could leave her phone, and would surely have a reply by the time she got back. Pleased with this, she took a look at herself in the mirror; her hair was falling around her shoulders in soft, blonde messy waves and her her clothes looked casual enough for a quick outing. She would do.

Grabbing her keys and her purse, Caroline paused the TV and locked the door as she left. She was a jumble of nerves over something so silly. Klaus would probably be confused as to why she was texting him, and may even bring it up, but he wouldn't be rude. Hopefully his ego would be satisfied that she was the one breaking the silence first enough so that he wouldn't feel the need to tease her over it.

_Yeah, right._

The queue was surprisingly longer than Caroline first thought it would be, and she briefly considered just compelling her way to the front before biting her lip with a small smirk. Bad Caroline. She could just imagine him standing behind her, his breath hot on the back of her neck, his stubble grazing her cheek as he leaned in, his voice rolling like velvet as he encourages her to use compulsion; like a Devil on her shoulder.

She'd been pleased with her idea to come for food, even if it was to distract herself. Now she was nervous as hell, but she had nachos, Ben and Jerry's and a large chocolate bar to cool her down. How much did she love her vampirism for allowing her to eat anything and not have to worry about her weight or her skin? Lots!

When she finally got back to her dorm, it had been over half an hour since she had sent the text. She'd been lying if she said she didn't totally leap at the bed where her phone was as soon as she got through the door. Unlocking the screen, she eagerly checked her missed messages.

She had one from Elena;

**-Hey sweetie, how's your night going? Feel bad for bailing on you but this B&B Damon brought us to is great. X**

Ignoring that, she checked the text she'd sent to him in case her notifications had missed the reply.

Nope.

No reply. Text sent at 09:27pm. It was now 10:06pm.

_Okay, so he must be busy._ She tried to reason. _It's not like I can expect him to just drop whatever' he's doing just to reply to my text. _

No matter how much she really wanted him to.

Lying back in her bed, she unpaused the TV and grabbed for the ice-cream in her bag. So he might not have great reception down there. He probably hasn't been able to check his messages. Klaus isn't really the type for checking his phone every five seconds. Nothing to worry over.

So she waited.

And waited.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

And fell asleep.

* * *

This will be a two-shot, the next part should be up in the next few days. I'm thinking of starting a series of one shots before I start my story since I haven't decided yet which plot idea I want to work on first. Feedback is much appreciated.

Thanks for reading. please review x


	2. Clarity Pt 2

**Hi guys, part 2 here. Thank you for your reviews, I get so happy to see one :) This second part is like twice as long, and I just want to clear a few things. TVD wise, set after 5x11 of course, but Katherine died and Delena never broke up. Ignoring other drama for the sake of it not being odd that Caroline and the girls are actually _at_ college, since they're like hardly there in the show. TO wise, set just after Farewell to Storyville but not so far that Gen-wench has her claws into our favourite Hybrid. Because, seriously, no. Just no. Hope this spares any confusion, and again please let me know what you think.**

**Clarity Pt. 2**

_'Cause you are the piece of me  
__I wish I didn't need  
__Chasing relentlessly,  
still fight and I don't know why_

_If our love is tragedy, why are you my remedy?  
If our love's insanity, why are you my clarity?_

* * *

_Lying back in her bed, she unpaused the TV and grabbed for the ice-cream in her bag. So he might not have great reception down there. He probably hasn't been able to check his messages. Klaus isn't really the type for checking his phone every five seconds. Nothing to worry over._

_So she waited._

_And waited._

_And fell asleep._

Caroline was beyond irritated with herself. She had sent that message on Saturday night. It was now Tuesday and she'd yet to receive a reply, and all she wanted to do was huddle underneath her covers and bawl her freaking eyes out. Which was why she was irritated with herself; why should she want to cry just because she didn't get a stupid text message from Klaus? Was she really that pathetic? _That_ needy? No. She was Caroline Forbes. Bad-ass vampire Caroline. Not girly little Caroline any more. She liked to think she had moved past that side of herself after she became a vampire. Her confidence grew with her strength and so she learned to be more independent, to not rely on others opinions of her for her own security. Apparently that was a load of crap, since she now felt little inclination to do anything other than sob and inhale a gallon of ice-cream in bed with the curtains closed.

He'd moved on. He'd gotten what he wanted out of her and he'd moved on.

"God I'm such an idiot." Caroline growled at herself as she stomped down the hall towards her class, people avoiding her as anyone with any self-preservation instinct could sense that the blonde was not one to be crossed in her current mood.

Bonnie and Elena had both returned on Sunday night, to find Caroline in a raging mood. And the reason they could tell was because she was stress-cleaning. Again. Bonnie made a tentative attempt to bring her back by telling her a funny story about Jeremy nearly setting the kitchen at the cabin on fire but Caroline hadn't been able to appreciate the story when it only reminded her that if they hadn't ditched her, she wouldn't have been alone, thinking about Klaus and then felt the need to send a text to him and therefore wouldn't have had to feel this unbearable humiliation that he had blatantly ignored her. So yeah, she was bitter. Just a little. But she had enough self-awareness to know that if she snapped at Bonnie and Elena and made them feel bad about what had obviously been a good weekend for them both, then she would regret it.

Elena had given her a weak smile; considering what Caroline had ended up confessing the last time she had been stress-cleaning, she had a good idea of what it was that had her friend so wound up, but chose to make no comment, not trusting herself to not say something that would only make it worse.

Caroline took a deep breath as she settled into her seat and waited for the rest of her class to come in. Hopefully her lecture would be interesting enough today to take her mind off it.

"Okay guys, is everybody seated?" Her undeniably cute Psych professor walked into the room, setting his briefcase down on the desk and going across to set up the overhead projector. Once the room was settled and everyone's attention focussed, he clicked something on his computer to bring up a large projection of a photograph. Of a man and woman obviously meant to be flirting with one another. "Great, lets begin. What is attraction?"

"Oh damn." Caroline muttered as she sank lower in her seat.

* * *

"Hey Caroline, you heading back to our dorm?" Elena called as she ran to catch up and walk alongside the blonde.

Caroline looked at the brunette, giving a weak smile as she nodded, "Yeah, and I'm exhausted. I can't wait to fall into bed and sleep for a decade."

"You probably could." Elena laughed as they entered their dorm building, walking towards the stairs. "Lets face it, a decade in a vampire's life is really nothing."

Caroline had smirked at Elena whispering the V-word and followed her into their dorm room, "True. I keep forgetting that if we play our cards right, we could be alive forever. A decade's really nothing."

"Give us a century or so, we'll get there."

"What do you think we'll be doing in a century?"

Elena shrugged but then gave a sly smile to her friend.

"What?" Caroline asked, narrowing her eyes, "What's with that smile?" She dropped her bag on the couch and shrugged off her jacket.

Elena shrugged nonchalantly as she sat down and relaxed into the couch, throwing one arm along the length of the couch and crossing one leg over the other. The action threw Caroline for a moment as she was vividly reminded of Katherine. Shaking off the slightly creepy feeling, she sat down on the edge of her bed facing the couch with a raised brow.

Elena smirked again at Caroline's silent demand for an answer, "Well, from the small pieces of information I was able to wrangle from you," She teasingly shook her head, "Like getting blood from a stone; there was a certain Original who had every intention of being with you in a century. And the century after that, and the century after that."

Caroline's eyes widened as she felt the heat rise to her cheeks. She got up off the bed, all nervous energy and laughter, "I don't even know what you're talking about."

She'd only ever confessed to Elena after she and Klaus slept together that she'd thought he might genuinely have feelings for her. She never told just how deep those possible feelings ran, never wanting to forget just what the man in question had done to Elena. She just told her about the drawing that first night after his family's ball, and how it surprised her when she expected him to tear her head off for her cutting words, told how she'd felt guilt gnawing at her those times she's had to play distraction since he always seemed to be genuinely pleased to see her and the look in his eyes when he realized she was just playing him had cut her to her core. She'd told her how he teased her over her Miss Mystic application at the pageant, and even helped her to find a replacement prom dress. The little things, she'd needed to get it out after what they did and she'd hoped Elena would understand given Damon's less than honourable history. And Elena was very understanding; she giggled and teased Caroline that the big bad Hybrid had a crush on her, and ever since she liked to slip it into conversation to tease her. Whenever a gift had shown up or a surprise delivery, Elena had been beside herself with glee at the opportunity to vex her. It was startling how well she'd taken it actually, teasing instead of judging.

"Yeah but come on, Caroline. You're probably the first person in centuries who wasn't one of his siblings to stand up to him. And you gave him a challenge. Klaus strikes me as the type to go for that. You know, if he actually has a type."

Caroline lightly shook her head, her curls waving back and forth. Exactly what she'd thought, and clearly she'd been wrong.

"Yes, but then we slept together, and have you seen any signs from him lately? No more knocks at the door at an ungodly hour of the morning to deliver flowers. No more random gifts popping up, and he has not called or texted me since before we did _that."_

Elena's brow crinkled in sympathy, "Is that why you've been so crazy lately? Because you haven't heard from Klaus?"

Blinking owlishly at her friends insightful comment, Caroline gave a heavy sigh and wrung her hands together, beginning to pace the length of their dorm, clearly working herself up to a famous "Caroline monologue".

"I know it's insane, and that I should be really happy that I haven't heard from him. I mean I get it, you all hate him, and for good reason. He is a murderer, and he did terrorize us for over a year, so it's really a good thing that he's in New Orleans, causing havoc and terror there instead of here. I mean, I basically insisted that he get the hell out of my life and never come back, and he gave me his word he would stay away, and this is clear proof that he's taken me seriously and is keeping his promise, which I should be happy about, I know."

All the while she spoke, she made grand hand gestures and waved her arms about, and sensing she'd be going for a while, Elena settled herself in to get comfy, torn between amusement and concern.

"I mean, sure he could be really romantic and everything," Caroline reasoned, more or less talking to herself now and slightly forgetting Elena was actually still there, "I remember every conversation we've ever had and he nearly always would say something to completely confuse the hell out of me! But at the same time, like really get to me, so that I wouldn't be able to stop thinking about what he said after. And his accent, god, I swear I never knew British guys could cause my toes to curl just by speaking or I'd have moved there years ago!"

Elena laughed at this point, knowing Caroline had always said the British accent was hot, and thinking it wasn't just his accent but that it was Klaus speaking that got Caroline so frazzled. Which still was kinda disturbing for Elena, but whatever. She'd had months to grasp that the evil Hybrid who had terrorized her and her friends, murdered her aunt Jenna and the Mayor and countless others and used her a blood-bag for Hybrids while destroying her relationship with Stefan was actually capable of real feelings for Caroline. It was really too late for them to be concerned though since it didn't seem that he was just using her when he turned up at Graduation to behead a witch for hurting and threatening the blonde. She could hardly hold it against Caroline who had clearly tortured herself about the whole thing, when Elena was with Damon whom had been the first supernatural to come along and start causing mayhem in their lives. Even though Damon was different now, and he wasn't the enemy, like Klaus was. Ugh, it gave Elena a headache just thinking about it. If vampires could get headaches not induced by bitchy witches.

"But whatever, I mean, I saw another side to him that I always wondered if he even showed to his family. You know, I was the teeniest bit flattered that he would open up to me of all people! I'm just a baby vampire whose seen nothing of the world, and he's a thousand year old Hybrid with daddy issues. And mommy issues. And you know, sibling issues. So even though he'd act like a raging psycho and go out and slaughter innocent people, and even calls himself a villain for Christ's sake, I couldn't help but be flattered. I mean, I'm not Wonder Woman. I couldn't completely ignore him, no matter how much I wanted to or how hard I tried. I defy any woman to fully ignore the attentions of Klaus Mikaelson! He is one persistent Hybrid!" Caroline told Elena, "And he would always catch my attention with the things he said to me. He would talk about how much I had to see in the world, and about Hummingbirds and being human, and he would tell me that he liked how I was too smart to be seduced by him, and that he never would have let Tyler hurt me when he thought Tyler cheated, and that he'd shown mercy and forgiveness and it was all for me."

"Wait, wait, what?!" Elena interjected in shock, "He told you what? And what about Hummingbirds?"

This was new information. Klaus talked to Caroline about being human? He'd shown mercy, and told her he did it for her?

"Are we still talking about the same Hybrid? You didn't meet another Klaus whilst I was off on my crazy humanity-less tangent right?"

Caroline stopped for breath, seeming to just remember that Elena was still in the room with her. God, how glad was she that it wasn't Bonnie here right now. For as much as she loved her friends, Bonnie she knew would never be able to contemplate Klaus being anything less than wholly evil. She'd barely been capable of looking at her for days after she was outed for sleeping with him.

"Yes, same guy. Tall, blonde, dimples. Practically bi-polar." Caroline listed off the attributes she knew Elena would recognize him for. Seriously, those dimples. After Klaus first came to town, and Elena told her about those dimples, Caroline had laughed and said that he couldn't be so evil if he had dimples.

"You know, I wonder if he is actually." Elena said thoughtfully with a small laugh, "I mean, it's not like he could have been diagnosed back in the Dark ages."

Laughing with her, Caroline sat back down facing her, "Yeah right. Maybe we should suggest he gets some meds. Could you imagine Klaus in a doctor's office, picking up his prescription?"

"Lying on a psychiatrist's couch talking about his feelings?" Elena managed to get out through her laughter.

The pair had to giggle as they both imagined the Hybrid in just such a situation. It quickly escalated to them both unable to contain themselves and making eye contact once before bursting into laughter.

"Oh god, maybe we should hold an intervention for him." Caroline choked out.

Elena giggled back at her, "Maybe you should call him, tell him we just want him to get the help he needs."

Caroline continued to laugh, her mirth quickly dying down as she thought about Elena's comment, and couldn't resist herself from saying, "He wouldn't pick up if I did."

"What?" Elena could hardly believe that, if everything she'd heard about their relationship was anything to go by, "Of course he would. By the sounds of it, he'd drop the phone in surprise but he'd be happy to hear from you."

Caroline gave a weak smile, it coming out as more of a grimace, "I don't think so. I think he's moved on."

"It can't just be because he hasn't you any more presents, right?"

"No! It isn't about that, I don't care about getting gifts all the time." Caroline bunched up her fists to cover her eyes as her frustration began to bubble to the surface again.

"Because you haven't heard from him then? You told him to stay away sweetie." Elena gently reminded her, "And, lets be honest here, if Klaus is going to keep that promise, it's really the best thing for all of us."

Sighing as she removed her hands and stared up at the ceiling. She could see every crack along the paint, and every scrap of dust. She couldn't really disagree. Never mind what she felt for Klaus, her friends hated him and he hated them in return. They had tried to kill each other enough times for it to not be something taken lightly.

"I do know that." she began, trying to keep her voice neutral, "And I'll never forget the things he did. If he stays away, it is for the best."

She sighed and turned over to face her best friend, "But as crazy as it makes me, I do kind of, miss him."

* * *

Klaus grumbled as he stormed to his liqueur cabinet, grabbing the nearest bottle of scotch his hands could reach. He gave a quick look to the label; Dalmore: 50 years old, he was saving this for a special occasion. Oh well, farewell to his sister seems like a good enough occasion, he considered as he poured himself a drink and walked over to settle himself into his armchair by the fire. Reaching into his pocket, he took out the wooden toy he had whittled and given to Rebekah over a thousand years prior. The Knight may have been intended for their dear father but when he'd heard his little sister turning in her sleep, fearful of the storm that raged outside his only thought had been to soothe her and bring a smile to her face. Accomplished when he gave her the wooden knight and promised to always protect her, a promise that now caused him to glare at the fire and set his lips in a grim line.

Rebekah had left now. After over a thousand years together, all their fights, all their words of "Always and Forever", she was free and he would not go after her. Knowing his little sister had hated him enough to want him dead was a concept that chilled him to his very core. Despite their differences, he loved his sister and despite chasing and terrorizing her, he had only for a second truly thought to kill her, a thought quickly wiped out by the very idea of her death being too painful for words. She had hurt him and so he had sought to hurt her, only in the end to release her and tell her to leave him and never return. She'd wanted to be free of him, so he granted her wish.

Sighing, he leaned back into the headrest, downing the remaining amber liquid in his glass before rising to get a refill but shrugged and just took the bottle back with him. If Elijah were to walk in, he would likely tut and admonish Niklaus for his bad manners, which only caused a wolfish grin to appear on the Hybrid's face as he drank another gulp. Feeling a slight haze indicating intoxication come over him, Klaus hummed in pleasure. While it certainly took a vast amount and only the strongest of poisons to get him drunk, he always enjoyed that delightful haze that allowed him a few hours of respite. Feeling down his jeans for the pocket which held his phone, he unlocked the device before checking his messages. Having been adequately distracted over the past few days, he had for the most part ignored the incessant thing. Permanently on silent so that he didn't crush it in annoyance at the irritating ring tone.

Missed calls from Elijah, Marcel and a few vampire lackeys. Not important. Ignored. All of his text messages were Marcel, even Elijah who usually hated to text, or one of his "followers" giving him updates on their respective task. And then he came across one shocking little message that had him blinking twice and nearly shaking his head to clear the haze so he could be sure it wasn't some kind of mirage from the 50 year old scotch.

**-Hi. How are you?**

Sent from Caroline on Saturday at 09:27pm.

"Bloody hell." He must be drunk. He was seeing things, surely. He tightened his eyes shut, then opened them again. Text still there, she'd replied to his last message sent to her a couple of days before their little rendezvous in the forest.

Klaus hummed again in pleasure in remembrance of that day. The happiness he felt at seeing her again was poignant in it's entirety. He'd felt that tightening in his stomach he always felt when she was near, his heart racing just that bit faster at her proximity, his mind was both cleared and dazed and he wondered how two such feelings could co-exist. The sight of her as she lay her exquisite blue eyes on him. And she spoke and oh, it was always euphoric when his name graced her lovely lips and her sweet voice, although her voice would usually be tinged with disdain when she spoke to him. This time, there was no disdain, no disgust or contempt. Mere surprise, with just hint of, dare he believe it, joy? He had returned with the intention to give Katerina some final torment in her last hours, but he should have known that once he'd seen Caroline, after so long, he wouldn't part from her, not until he had to. He'd told Caroline he had wanted to pay one last visit to the Doppelganger but he wouldn't for her. It was no sacrifice to him, he wanted to spend as much time as he could with his little firecracker. Chasing her through the forest was easy but exhilarating, the wolf in him loved a good hunt and he'd happily chase after Caroline as long as he got to catch her eventually.

Living through a thousand years left him many to choose from, yet he felt no falsehood on his tongue to say that the day he spent with Caroline was one of the best days of his life. Seeing her, lying on the forest floor beneath him; her hair a halo of golden curls fanned out around her as she arched her back, looked him straight in the eyes and wrapped her gloriously smooth legs around him, he swore she was the epitome of beauty. He'd never seen anything more divine.

To him she was an angel, and he had spent these last weeks capturing her image onto canvas when his attention wasn't being otherwise diverted.

If he'd assumed that his craving for her would be curbed once she'd finally given herself to him, he was incredibly mistaken. His need for her only grew knowing for certain now that she did in fact want him back, that it wasn't just his besotted mind twisting their every encounter. He yearned for her, mind, body and soul. His mind was constantly turning over their every meeting, recalling the very words that would cause a blush, or for her eyes to gain that infuriated gleam which meant she was riling herself up for a fight. Truth be told, he loved Caroline when she was being nice just to distract him, when she was being snarky and replying to his every word with an insult, when she was being courageous and standing up to him, the rare instances when she would let her guard down and he could elicit a genuine smile or laugh but she was magnificent when she would get caught up in her fury. He at first likened her temper to that of a kitten trying out its claws, but she was truly a lioness, fierce and majestic. He found her anger beautiful, and often couldn't resist provoking her.

Coming back to himself, he realized he'd just been staring at his phone as he got lost in his thoughts. Klaus wanted to be concerned that she had contacted him; what if she was hurt, or in trouble? What day was it now, Tuesday, nearly Wednesday.

"Damn it." he muttered, feeling immense irritation that he had missed her message thanks to the discovery of his sister's traitorous plots.

He was slightly amused however; she had explicitly told him in no uncertain terms that she had no place for him in her life, and although this past month not contacting her had been torture, he desired to respect her wishes. So he stopped sending her gifts and notes, he stopped arranging for gifts and flowers to be delivered to her. He had done his utmost to stay away from her in every manner. Physically speaking, this was no difficulty seeing as he now lived in a different state, but he had been near desperate just to hear her voice. It hadn't taken more than a week before he was compelling a phone out of a stranger and dialling her number. She had answered, which he'd briefly feared she might not if she didn't recognize the number, but she picked up when he seemed to have caught her asleep. Her voice was tired and he was overcome with a rush of affection and annoyance at himself for having woken her. He didn't say anything, just listened to her ask who was on the other end for a few moments before hanging up. He didn't want to scare her so hadn't called again. One strange call in the middle of the night from an unknown number with no one speaking on the other end she'd probably let go, if it happened more than once she would likely be concerned.

He knew that she was safe. He still had certain loyal subjects who were attending classes with her at college to keep an eye on her. Some had even managed to build an acquaintance with her, so that he could be sufficiently informed on her progress through college, how she was, if she seemed happy and if there was anything she needed. All of the vampires he had watching her were under compulsion to either keep their distance so as not to arouse suspicion or to ingratiate themselves steadily with Caroline, to make her safety their highest priority, to protect her at all cost and should she ever be in any great danger that could not be eradicated so easily, he was to be informed immediately. He could never take the chance that his sweetheart's friends would not drag her into yet another bloody battle where she was inexperienced, unprepared and practically defenseless. He would rip apart the whole town and raise bloody hell-fire should any harm befall her.

It was late, close to midnight, and she was probably sleeping again, but he was sufficiently intoxicated and fervently hoping that she would answer so he could ask why she had contacted him. Her words "Hi. How are you?" So commonplace, and yet he knew that she wouldn't have contacted him with those words had it been an emergency. It was one single text, no missed calls or other messages. It was an uncomplicated conversation starter, and he could only imagine that had been her aim, to engage him in conversation. And he wanted to know why.

The dial tone was familiar, and took a quick swig to calm his nerves of all things. She was just a baby vampire, he should not be acting like this. A lovesick schoolboy.

He scoffed as he listened to the dial tone. He sighed in resignation and was about to hang up when her familiar voice was suddenly in his ear.

"_Hello?"_

"Hello sweetheart."

He licked his lips and silently thanked every deity he could think of that she hadn't just ignored him. He heard a gentle gasp from her and some rustling and he surmised his guess that he'd woken her was correct. She was in bed it seemed.

"_Klaus?"_

"The one and only." He had to sound a little smug at that, and only grinned wider when he heard her gentle scoff.

"_Give me a moment." _More rustling, and he could make out a creak from her bed and her steady breathing before the click indicating a door being opened. Another click, the door closed.

"I'm guessing Elena and Bonnie are there." he teased lightly. Rather than hanging up on him when her friends were near, she had instead taken the phone elsewhere to make it private. So she did want to talk to him. He didn't even try to fight the silly grin which crept up on his face.

"_I don't want to wake them. They're sleeping." _She explained, _"Like I should be. Why are you calling?"_

"My apologies love, I'm sorry to disturb you." he told her sincerely, "I only just received the message you sent to me. I've been rather _busy _over the past few days and hadn't checked my phone."

He could almost see her; outside her dorm room in her pyjamas, probably some slinky top with shorts that he'd have no issue killing to see her in, nervously twisting her hair as was her tell for when she wanted to say something but was unsure on how to start.

"_That's fine. Really, I didn't even notice you hadn't replied actually."_

"Is that so?"

"_Yeah. I was just, um, bored, and thought there was no harm in seeing how you were."_

Her voice had hitched slightly and he could practically hear her elevated heartbeat over the phone. She was lying, but he'd let her.

"Well I thank you for asking love. Very kind of you to be concerned about my welfare." His voice was teasing, and he hoped she smiled.

"_Careful now, don't get ahead of yourself." _She was teasing right back, _"It was really a generic question to see how your bid for taking over New Orleans was going. Many assassination attempts or having you been playing nice with the locals?"_

He gave a bark of laughter at the question, and heard her gentle chuckle before replying, "I always play nice sweetheart. I'm such a kind, sweet-mannered man."

That caused a giggle from her, such a sound heavenly to him, _"Oh yes, your kind, sweet manners are renowned. So much for the big bad Hybrid."_

"Big bad Hybrid love?" His grin wolfish and his eyes glinting in mirth, he could almost hear her cursing herself, "Careful now, or I may take that as a compliment and start to think you do like me."

Such a name was hilarious to him, and coming from Caroline, adorable.

"_Well we can't have that now, can we?" _Her voice was unsteady and quiet, and he had to rein in the elation and sheer pride in knowing that she _did _like him, she _did _feel something. He'd almost managed to forget Rebekah's departure, only this woman could manage to distract him enough.

"Hmmm, no, I suppose not." He mused, "So tell me love, how is college life treating you? Everything you hoped it would be?"

"_When I actually get to be here, yes. I love it." _Her voice had taken on a cheerful demeanour and he was pleased at the honest joy he heard, _"My classes are really interesting and getting away from Mystic Falls is a blessing. Even if I'm only like a half hour drive away."_

"You never did tell me what you were studying."

"_Art Design & Photography is my major. I've taken minors in Philosophy and Music and I've been attending open Psychology lectures."_

He gave a low chuckle as he settled back into his armchair, "Interesting choices sweetheart. Why those?"

The lines was quiet as she mulled over her answer and he took a small drink as he waited patiently for her to speak.

"_Well, at first I thought about journalism; like photojournalism or broadcast journalism, but as my Mom kindly pointed out to me at our school's career fair, I don't even read the paper." _She broke off with a laugh that was only slightly bitter, _"It was only a phase where I considered a glamorous TV career as my ticket out of town. But I like the different options with my choices; my lectures are fascinating, and I have this one professor-"_

He listened to her gush over how interesting this Professor Campbell was, only slightly displeased that it was a he, and was that jealously ripping through him when Caroline mentioned thinking him "cute"? Nope not at all. She told him that she had pondered for some time over what to choose, as it didn't seem necessary to choose a career just yet, if ever, and she was never certain of what _her_ passion was anyway, but she wanted to learn more about art, she loved to take photos and having taught herself to play the school's keyboard piano, music was a good option for her. He confessed his surprise at hearing that she sang.

"_Yeah, I've always loved singing. Not much for public performances."_

"Unless it's at the Grill, serenading your quarterback boyfriend?" he teased lightly.

Silence. He held back laughter as he knew she was probably trying to come up with a quick retort to hide her shock.

"_Wha-How do you even know about that? You weren't in town yet! Were you?" _

"I had my spies around, love."

Not wanting to continue that path of conversation into dangerous territory, he asked, "So would you sing anything for me?"

She giggled, _"No way! I am not a performing monkey!"_

He laughed with her, "No, but come on love, I did show you my art, it's only fair I get to hear your talent."

"_You don't know if I have talent. I could sound like a dying cat for all you know."_

"I assure you love, I will inform you if you do sound like a dying cat." His lips were pressed tightly together now as he tried to keep his laughter from bubbling over.

"_I'm sure you will." _Her tone was delightfully laced in sarcasm and once again, Klaus wished he was there with her just to see her _face._ He imagined a raised brow, her eyes sparkling with her funny sense of humour and her sweet mouth twisting as she tried to fight a smile.

"I promise. Scouts honour."

She laughed at that, an infectious and pleasing sound that caused a familiar fluttering in his stomach and lightness with his heart. Bloody hell Caroline, what was this woman doing to him?

"I'm offended by your laughter sweetheart." His tone told her otherwise, and he listened to her chortling dying down.

"_I'm sorry, how could I make it up to you?" _Her tone was flirtatious and silky; was she intentionally trying to kill him? Klaus wanted to shoot back a flirty retort, something designed to make her blush, but first he had to ask her why she had contacted him to begin with. He had to know she wasn't just playing with him. He didn't even want to consider that perhaps she actually _was _just playing with him.

"Perhaps, you might care to tell me what changed your mind about speaking to me. Seeing as you asked me to go away and not return for you, I assumed you'd rather not hear from me in any way at all." His tone was as delicate as could be, despite the cloud of fear that had fallen over him that he was now deliberately shoving her away, that she would not want to answer his question and would likely scoff at him and reject any notion of wanting to speak with him.

Her silence was not helping. He wanted to be patient, but the tumultuous emotions this little baby vampire managed to stir up in him were turbulent and raked through him as he nervously awaited her reply.

"_Well, I did ask you to leave and never come back. Which you promised to do, and you've been doing well with that. Really well." _The tone in which she said the last part led him to consider the idea that perhaps she wasn't too pleased he had been keeping to his promise so well.

"_And, honestly, it was a stupid promise to get you to make."_

Was that his heart that just leaped from his chest? Oh no, he's just imagining things.

"_I was caught off guard by seeing you, and you were being all, you, and then you said that you would be leaving and not coming back and I don't know, I just panicked I guess. Please do not take what I'm saying as an invitation though; I don't think my friends can handle the stress."_

He had to give a small laugh there, "Yes well, if we're going to play that game, I was there first love."

"_If we're going to play that game, then there probably isn't anywhere in the world we'd be able to claim for ourselves."_

Chuckling in response, he noticed she still hadn't mentioned his question, "So you sent me that message the other night because?"

He heard her sigh and gritted his teeth. Did she really expect him to not question it?

"_I was...lonely."_ Another sigh. _"I was alone in my dorm; Elena and Bonnie were off with their boyfriends for the weekend. And I was sitting there and it just occurred to me that it had been some time since I'd heard anything from you. If I hadn't remembered you're invincible and that I'd be be toast if you were, I'd have been concerned that you were dead."_

He wasn't certain how to respond without making a comment that may incite her wrath, so kept silent and allowed her to continue.

"_Look, I just figured that it wasn't completely fair of me to insist you leave and never come back. I, don't want us to have parted on, bad terms."_

"We hardly parted on bad terms love." He reminded her softly. Quite the opposite, her taste on his tongue, her scent of freesias ingrained into his psyche. The feeling of her small body, delectably curved as he held her tightly against him and gave her one last burning kiss.

"_True, but then I never heard from you, and it was just, strange."_

Something then occurred to him, and he had to quickly knock back another drink to be able to steady his voice enough to ask the question, deliberately injecting a playful tone to belie the true tempest brewing inside of him,

"Have you been missing me sweetheart?"

She seemed to squeak, and he knew he was correct in his theory. The elation that flooded him was incredible; where not an hour ago his mood was sour and he had been filled with rage and glaring at everything in his path, now he was beaming, his pleasure marked only by the unhappiness of knowing that Caroline felt lonely. He knew how it felt to miss her, and despite being pleased that she missed him, he was also saddened that she could have been feeling any modicum of the sorrow he had been since leaving her.

"_Um, yes, actually." _She seemed surprised by her own confession, and he smiled.

* * *

**Felt right to end it there. Was originally to be a two-shot, but I had an idea to make it a 3-shot instead so the epilogue will up in the next few days. Thanks for reading. Klaroline cookies for feedback! :'D**

**x**


	3. Clarity pt 3

**Last part. Later than I'd hoped, but I got distracted by all the Klaroline trends on Twitter. But still, woo-hoo! Celebrating the Klaroline Petition is trending worldwide! Link to my twitter is on my profile, I'd love to follow any other KC fic writers/readers. ****And they've been nominated for World Couple for TV Guide Canada. Voting for them is Monday 30th!**

**Disclaimer - I do not own The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, or any of it's characters. If I did, Caroline would be the Queen of Nola by now. **

* * *

**Clarity part 3**

Quite a difference from Tuesday, Caroline practically bounced down the hallways as she made her way towards the exit of the building. The sun was shining brightly and felt warm on her skin; representing her current mood befittingly. She dropped her bag on the grass, and sat down in an area where most students frequented during the good weather; already there were students littered across the area, some alone, some in pairs or groups, some working, some not even attempting and just enjoying the sun. Being one of the latter since all of her essays were up to date, Caroline leaned back, resting on her hands behind her as she surveyed a couple across from her being all, couply. Kissing and teasing; a few days ago Caroline would have compelled the pair to knock it off with the PDA, now she was in a better mood and only slightly envious she didn't have anyone to be wrapped up in her own little bubble with. Which only got her onto thinking about the main reason for her good mood.

Initially, being awoken at a god forsaken hour, only to check her phone and see it was Klaus calling, let's say there'd been a brief moment where she considered throwing her phone out the window. But then, curiosity, and her desire to hear his voice won out. Damn, his voice was like velvet, all soft but husky. She couldn't deny it gave her shivers. Or the fact that it had been two days since that phone call, and she hadn't stopped grinning like a child. She should not be this happy to have heard from Klaus of all people, let's face it he was probably who some cultures had based their idea of Satan on. God, she told him she regretted making him promise not to come back, what the hell had she been thinking?

Smiling softly, she remembered how instead of making her feel like some awkward child with a silly crush, he was gently teasing but seemed to sense her discomfort, and so set to put her mind immediately at ease.

"_I've missed you too Caroline."_

Why was it that every time he said her name she felt like melting like ice-cream? Seriously, did he have some magic Hybrid powers that made her go weak at the knees whenever he spoke? He was half werewolf, and definitely an alpha male (which she totally didn't secretly find extremely sexy), maybe it was pheromones?

Not wanting to contemplate that further, she thought back over the remainder of their conversation. Tired of basically always hurting him to lie about her feelings, she figured if their "agreement" was still withstanding, then she could continue her whole honesty thing. Admitting that she missed him, instead of making her panic and want to knock herself out for her foolish words, she felt liberated. It was freeing, to be able to be honest with him. And his response was a definite plus; she remembered releasing the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding and laughing in honest relief. He seemed to share her sentiments and laughed along with her.

Instead of the conversation turning awkward, she asked him about New Orleans. He seemed to take great pleasure in telling her about his city (and yes, he did call it _his_), and in only the way an artist could, described to her the streets drenched in culture and historical influences from across the world, including Europe. He told her that walking through the French Quarter alone was like a melting pot of art, music, beautiful smells of the most delicious cuisine, and people of every calibre. He told her he was standing on his balcony and vividly described to her the view; the architectures, the sights, the smells, the noise, it felt like she was there, standing next to him. She'd never heard him speak for so long a time, usually he turned the conversation around to her. His love for the city he told her he'd built was evident in every word, his passion for its vibrancy and ongoing prosperity clear to anyone who would listen. She could have listened to him for hours.

He then asked her more about college, and she had to laugh and admit that compared to what he just described, Whitmore was severely lacking and she was looking around at everything in distaste. His "not-even-an-option" offer to join him suddenly was looking more and more enticing, and quick to jump on an opportunity, he once again reminded her she did have an unremitting invitation. To which she jokingly wondered aloud if she could leave the elegance and luxury of the Mystic Falls/Whitmore lifestyle.

Discussing her friends and his family was sufficiently uncomfortable at first. He was intrigued to discover that Elena had apparently made her decision and gone with Damon instead of Stefan, and she enjoyed teasing him about being a "Stelena" shipper, before admitting that she was too. She enjoyed listening him complain about Elijah pestering him, and playfully said that someone needed to keep him in line. Asking about Rebekah out of politeness became immensely disconcerting when he told her that Rebekah was gone; having discovered a betrayal of hers, something he wasn't able to tolerate or forgive, he had gone after her in anger, before telling her to leave New Orleans.

Realizing she felt a burning hunger just beginning to itch the back of her throat, Caroline stood to head back towards her dorm room, still lost in her thoughts. Hearing Klaus talk of his sister's betrayal had stirred something inside of her; sympathy and another feeling she couldn't place. Thinking about how many times Klaus had daggered his sister and stuck her in a box, she briefly considered admonishing him for being surprised that Rebekah would have wanted her freedom, but held her tongue as even she couldn't quite believe that Rebekah would have gone so far as to summon Mikael of all people to actually kill her brother. She suspected it had never occurred to Klaus that he would ever actually kill his own sister, as to him daggering them was his way of protecting them. His own creepy, psychotic way of being a good brother. So for his own flesh and blood to have wanted him dead and gone, she knew Klaus must have been hurting deeply.

"_Maybe it's for the best." She told him, "Not that she called Mikael, but that you've let her go now."_

"_I have spent over one thousand years with my sister by my side, give or take a few centuries, only to find out that she betrayed me to someone who'd wanted me dead for my entire life." His tone was sarcastic, "I dare say yes love, it is for the best." _

"_Independence." She interjected. "And some space and time away from each other, it could be good for you both. And it's not like you'll never see her again. You're immortal, both of you, you have eternity to forgive each other."_

In her dorm, Caroline dropped her bag, going straight to the mini-fridge for her blood-bags. Another gift from Klaus at the beginning of summer; a brand new mini-fridge already stocked with bags of B+ since he knew that was her favourite, and also some bags with his blood, with a note saying _"In case of emergency"_. A sweet gesture, one of many that made the warm feelings she had towards the Hybrid only increase and flourish. She smiled and recalled the way he suddenly began to compliment her generosity towards two people who had done nothing more than earn her contempt; his attempts to redirect the conversation back to her wasn't as subtle as usual and she suspected he was more unsettled by the deep turn their conversation had taken than he would let on.

She had just taken a seat on the couch, ready to relax for an hour before her next lecture, when she looked towards her right at her desk. Strange to have missed them, but there, lying quite innocently on top of an envelope were several roses, all a different colour, held together with a white ribbon. She couldn't ignore the tendrils of anticipation that crept up on her, and made a quick look towards the door, using her vamp hearing to try and detect if either of her room mates were nearby. Of course not, Elena was in Mystic Falls checking on Jeremy and wouldn't be back until tonight and Bonnie had English Lit for another hour. Taking another gulp of blood, Caroline held herself back from hurling herself across to her desk. When she picked up the roses, she lightly gasped at just how exquisitely beautiful they were. They were six, artfully arranged, all a different vibrant colour or shade, their petals delicate and lovely. They each had a long stem, and Caroline appreciatively noted how the thorns had been left intact, something she recalled mentioning as her preference to him when he once asked her about the flowers she liked. She personally knew the meaning for each of the colours, having looked this up years ago when she first started arranging town events so that she would be able to have suitable decorative flower pieces. So her undead heart was racing as she took in the message being sent to her.

A yellow rose; meaning friendship, joy and caring, also to "begin anew". Caroline smiled as she contemplated that message, taking a deep breath as she noted the other colours. A lavender rose; something rare and visually stunning, it meant to represent enchantment or "love at first sight", the mysterious or unattainable. A light pink rose; to represent admiration for beauty, deep affection and also a token to express recognition, appreciation and gratitude. An orange rose; they represented fascination, an open declaration of desire and passion. The red rose. Anyone with a brain cell knew the red rose was a global symbol of being in love with someone. It represented the desire and passion the sender carried, their adoration, respect and appreciation for the recipient.

And a white rose. White having always been synonymous with purity, to send a white rose was also to express purity in affections. Stepping away from the passion of the red rose, the white rose was meant to symbolize an everlasting love, something sustained by reverence, loyalty and humility and expresses a capacity to worship until death.

It was these last two that caused Caroline to sit down on her bed, still holding the roses and feeling overwhelmed. Something was bubbling to the surface, something she recognized and had been rejecting for months. Now, she couldn't find neither the strength nor the volition to do so. She leaned in to smell and was gifted with a lovely aroma. She picked up the envelope, opening and taking out the card that bore his familiar handwriting. She just got a brief whiff of a cologne that was also so achingly familiar that she was for a moment taken back to a warm afternoon, pressed against a tree, barely noticing the roughness against her back when strong, masculine hands were clutching at her waist, a hard, warm body was pressed to hers and lips were taking possession of hers; his tongue sneaking against her lower lip, his stubble scraping against her jaw in the most sinfully pleasing way. She broke from the reverie to look at the two sentences he had written for her.

_I still intend to be your last._

_However long it takes, I'll wait for you._

"Damn." Caroline smiled as she accepted defeat.

* * *

Klaus had just left Rousseau's when his phone buzzed, and he grinned to see Caroline's name flashing. He knew she'd received the roses today. Either he was about to be effectively scolded, or thanked, and he wasn't sure which he'd prefer. Caroline's frustration was a great source of amusement for him. Opening the message he was pleasantly surprised to see a photo of the roses in a vase with some water, still with the ribbon holding them together and a large card in front of the vase saying "Thank you, they're beautiful!" Klaus felt his spirits lifting as he replied. He had been anxious that his open declaration would not be received well. He knew that sending single roses in different colours would cause her to research the meanings if she didn't already know them, Caroline was far too intelligent to not recognize when there was a greater meaning and the card he sent was as plain as can be. It filled him with a consuming amount of happiness to know that she was happy to receive this small token of his love. It gave him hope that perhaps she could not only reciprocate, but want to accept his offer, if not now, someday.

If she were to visit, he had promised that she would not be disappointed and that he was more than happy to be her host and tour guide. He already had a room at the compound ready for her, which he kept locked at all times to prevent Elijah or Hayley wandering in and messing anything up. Rebekah he'd had to threaten to dagger just to keep her out, not wanting to face her endless teasing and insults over his "infatuation" with the blonde vampire. But he had made his decision to not let her go a long time ago; he may be needed in New Orleans now, and he had resisted contacting her these last few weeks to respect her wishes but he had never any intention of simply moving on with his life and attempting to forget her. He'd learned after just a few weeks of chasing her that such a feat was not possible for him.

Later in the evening, he was relaxing in his bedroom with his sketchbook; the most recent pages filled with Caroline's face and her body, all memories of that day. His favourite was his drawing of her face, as he had seen her right after their first kiss, as she smiled at him. He remembered having been taken by surprise, pleasantly so, and when she had pulled away he had given her a smile more human than he'd ever thought himself capable of. He'd felt true happiness and then she smiled back, radiant as ever; that image would stay with him through the rest of eternity. He looked upon his drawing, pleased that his good memory partnered with his talent for drawing served him well for creating a true likeness of the beautiful woman who had captured his attentions, his affections and his love.

He himself had never been able to understand exactly why he loved Caroline as much as he did. She was infuriating beyond belief; he'd never met anyone to so constantly challenge him at every turn. Even his siblings had learned long ago where the line was not to be crossed with him. Caroline seemed to have seen the line, toed the line, then shrugged her shoulders and would dance back and forth across simply because she could. Caroline would stand up to anyone, and had that wonderful quality of saying whatever came into her head. He was concerned about others who would not enjoy it the way he did, but he would tear apart anyone who dared harm her. Her perfect imperfections, the way her fascinating mind worked, she had him twisting and turning trying to keep up with her. Like painting a new portrait; just when he thought he was finally adding the final touches to Caroline, she would say or do something to unravel him, and he'd realize there was so much more to her picture. She was his greatest distraction, his biggest muse, biggest critic and the only woman in a thousand years for him to fall for. It was disorienting, unexpected, and even somewhat alarming. But wholly exhilarating. She would forever be his weakness, and his drug.

Klaus broke from his reverie as he felt his phone buzz and was pleased to see Caroline's name on the screen once again. Even more elated upon reading the message.

**-So what's New Orleans like at Spring Break? X**

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**And, that's all folks. Hope you all enjoyed reading. I've loved writing this. It was more or less a writing exercise since it's been so long since I posted anything. I have some other one-shot ideas before I start writing my full-length fic. In this, I've kept them both as lighthearted as I could but my depictions will likely differ depending on the story setting etc. Thanks for reading!  
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**X**


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